JEDDAH: Gulf bourses plummeted across the board this week as investors came under pressure due to losses incurred by global markets, the persistent eurozone sovereign debt problem, and continued fallout from Arab uprisings, financial analysts said Friday. They also attributed the decline to a deep profit-taking move and speculative trading that usually precede the release of semi-annual results. Saudi shares lost ground for the second week in a row. The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) shed 1.48 percent on weekly basis, closing at 6,449.50 points. Saudi analyst Mohammad Anqari attributed this week's decline to ‘a profit-taking and speculative activity which usually test the support areas before the publication of semi-annual results'. He expected the downward correction would pave the ground for rebounds in the coming weeks. Other analysts expected Saudi shares to drop further in the short term due to summer vacations and the advent Ramadan early in August. Kuwait's KSE all-share index shed 1.17 percent, to close the week at 6,263 points. The benchmarks of Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets plummeted 4 percent and 1.62 percent on weekly basis, to close respectively at 1,537 points and 2,716 points. Qatar's all-share index also lost 1.27 per cent this week, closing at 8,214 points. Bahrain's index shed 0.49 per cent, to close at 1,338 points. Also, Egypt's AGX 30 index lost 1.1 percent on a weekly basis, closing at 5,480 points.
